Global processes with flows in money, commodities and people have made it increasingly varied and blurred what it means to be a female or male in Asia today. Socio-economic and cultural patterns in Asia intersect with one another and, in doing so, they translate into power relations that create both possibilities and constraints for women and men. By focusing on unequal access to political and religious power, occupation and health facilities, as well as different options when it comes to family life and sexuality, the recognition of women and men are explored in this volume as manifestations of ideas about femininity and masculinity.

Readers will find insightful and enriching contributions that consider how gender relations in Asia - and indeed the very meaning of gender itself - are affected by neo-liberalism, globalization and economic growth; security in all of its meanings; multiculturalism, race and class; family life, power and intergenerational support; religious discourses and activism; and by male norms in politics.

This title highlights the complex ways in which the positions of women and men are configured, recognized and contested in a rapidly transforming region. It offers a fresh multidisciplinary perspective on gender inequalities.